Yesterday, I went to watch Julie & Julia, a movie portraying the life of two women – Julia Child & Julie Powell, born in different eras but in love with cooking. While Julia Child  an American who lived in Paris in 1920s, learnt French cooking and wrote books about it. Julie Powell lives in New York, is fascinated by Julia Child’s cooking and blogs. She became famous because she cooked all the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s book “Mastering the art of French cooking” in 365 days and blogged about it.

What I found interesting about the film was that it made cooking so glamorous and interesting. Off course, I have seen cooking shows on television!!! But Julia Child played by Meryl Streep came across as an absolutely delightful person – in love with life and food. As I write this, I think Julia Child reminds me a wee bit of Tarla Dalal. The famous Indian author of cookery books and TV host. However, the comparison ends there.

I quite liked Amy Adams as Julie Powell living the life of a New Yorker, hating it and finding solace in cooking. I was quite intrigued by Powell’s fascination with Julia Child and cooking. I always think that New York as a city has so much to offer, so it is quite surprising that someone would find interest in cooking and staying indoors.

The movie also made me think about the tradition of cooking. In the contemporary world, the art of traditional cooking is getting lost. When I was growing up in India, one of the biggest worries my family had was teaching me to be a good cook. I had to undergo a training at home to be a good cook. Off course, I went to a Home Science college and learnt all about food, nutrition and cooking. But my family thought it was very theoretical and I quite agree I could never make a dish taste like the way my mother would make it. I always tell my aunt who is a wonderful cook to write all her recipes for me. I am not sure when I will ever get time to cook all of them.

The movie was absolutely hilarious, but I must warn that you should have food before you watch it otherwise you may find it difficult to sit through it. Watching all that delicious food and the wonderful comments about food made me want to eat. And I have to confess that I ate a big piece of chocolate cake, without feeling guilty and savoring the taste of every bite…mmmmm!!!

Next time, you eat home made food cooked by that someone special….just appreciate it!!! You never know, she might turn into a cooking star!!!

Yesterday, I went to DC to watch the fireworks for July 4 celebrations. I go to DC very frequently, but yesterday I had very unique experiences. First, while I was going to DC, a girl walked up to me at the metro station and said that she really liked my top I  was wearing. We started talking and it turned out that our destination was similar. She is born and raised here but her parents are from Pakistan. We exchanged numbers and decided to meet again.

My second stop was to go with a friend to another friends place and watch the fireworks from his balcony. It was an eclectic gathering. I met a lot of people young and old, of different nationalities and faith. It was quite interesting to talk to people there. Almost everyone had a story to tell. One lady told me an interesting story about an Indian girl who came to America to do her bachelors and then stayed here. She talked about her emotional struggle to settle down here. Another man asked me about my dissertation project and wanted to know about the findings. He was from USAID, he wanted to know how mobile phones can improve the life of young people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Then there was an artist, who complimented me on my outfit. She really liked the way I had put the whole ensemble together – my earrings and the top. At the party there were at least 3 – 4 people who made the same comment.

Then I was walking down the road and a couple getting into a car, made the same comment about my outfit. It was really strange and exciting to hear so many compliments in one night about what I was wearing. A little bit of fashionable clothing is indeed a great way to start a conversation or to get people’s attention. It is a way to connect with people. Yet I think today fashion has lost that attribute of connection, a sense of community and belonging. It’s become more of a commercial medium.

And then the most amazing coincidence happened. I was waiting for the metro. It was past midnight. I was sleepy and tired. I was in transit, changing from one metro to another. The metro came and went by, it didn’t stop. Almost everyone who ran to catch, sighed and stared at one another in helplessness. Another was after almost 20 min. I still needed to travel at least an hour before I could reach home. I asked the young American girl standing in front of me where she was going. Lo and behold, she was actually going to the same apartment building as mine. In the next 20 min, we introduced ourselves and exchanged our frustrations about the metro. I even managed a short interview of 5 min. of her social/ mobile medis usage. She then offered to give me a ride home since she was driving from the metro station. On our way home, we just couldn’t keep our eyes open. We slept the whole way, she gave me a ride home. Towards the end, I asked her if she liked Indian food. If so, I would love to have her come over. She was excited about it.

Today, we went out to Indian restaurant for dosas and fixed a date for another dinner. What an interesting day!!!

They say after every end there is a beginning. According to Hinduism, when you die, you are reborn. There is no concept of death. Yet there are “ends” in life. And you have to move beyond, look for something new.

I am dealing with two of these -

Almost five years ago when I started my Ph.D. it was an end to my professional life in India and start of new academic life in USA. But now the end is in sight. I am about to graduate in a few months. Now what? The question is a tough one as at once I feel that there are so many beginnings in sight. The first question, I have to deal with – do I want to go back to India or stay in US? What kind of a job I want to do? Do I want to get an academic position or work in the industry? How easy/ or difficult it is to get into a professional career after your Ph.D?

Yes, I am looking forward to graduate but I don’t think I can find answers to these questions. I am hoping it will sort out as time comes.

The second most immediate decision I need to make is to move into a new apartment. It is always difficult to shift especially when you don’t know what the future is holding for you. But I guess I will have to make some decisions.

New place, new decisions.

This thought occured to me recently. When faced with a situation, we usually adopt two kinds of stances, of a “warrior” or a “worrier”.

As a “worrier” our focus is on everything else, except the challenge ahead. We don’t even see the situation as a challenge, we see it as a problem. So there goes the fun in dealing with the situation. We get so caught up in the problems that we don’t even look beyond the situation. We keep thinking and get into a complaining mode about how, why, what and when we got into this situation rather than ah!!! thank God, what an opportunity to be in such a situation.

However, if we take up a “warrior” stance, we feel full of energy and we start thinking of strategies and solutions of how to deal with the situation. Suddenly, the whole situation is fun and challenging and we enjoy the whole process of winning through the situation. We don’t even realize but in the process we gather like-minded people, we find resources, things just begin to happen. By the end of it, we find a lot of growth within ourselves and we get a feeling of mission accomplished!!!

Often the choice is ours, of being a warrior or a worrier!!! And we must remember that it is only the warriors who win!!!

It’s a tough road ahead but I need to look beyond. I just feel so good about the fact that I can finally graduate with a Ph.D. While working on my Ph.D. for past five years I have now forgotten why I started it. But I do know one thing that now I need to complete it and forge a new path.

One thing that is affecting my peace of mind is that I do not have a job right now. Perhaps I didn’t start looking for it, when it was the right time. When is the right time to start looking for a job? Most people tell me that this is not the right time to graduate because there are no jobs in the market right now. The condition may continue for a while. I don’t know what to make of this statement. Because when I look back into my life, I realize that I couldn’t even dream of doing what I am doing today. Living in an alien country and writing my dissertation. And my circumstances never deterred me from doing whatever I wanted to do with my life. I always believed that, there is always a way to get out of any situation. Yet, at times I have felt that I am limited by my circumstances. Hopefully something will work out.

I think right now what I need to concentrate on is completing my Ph.D. now that I can see the finishline. I have been working on it for past three years. It was an absolutely new topic for me about which I knew nothing but I was fascinated about it. So I researched and learnt. I have enjoyed most aspects of working on my dissertation. Whether it was writing the proposal, going to India to collect the data, living in USA experiencing the culture around me, meeting all the interesting people, building my online presence, becoming a facebook junkie, twitterer, blogger. I have enjoyed it all and I have learnt a lot at every stage.

But now I am at the most challenging stage, pulling it all together and finally writing it. Since the beginning of this year, I have tried to immerse myself in it and stay away from hanging out with friends. I have had moderate success in it. I am hoping that in the month of May, I will be more successful at it and I will finally have it written.

For past few days, I have realized that so much of our success depends upon the “internal conversations” that we have with ourselves. So many of the self-help and spiritual books tell us how to direct our internal conversations. Every morning when we wake up, we tell ourselves how our day is going to turn out. A bad mood most often will lead to a bad day. When we stand in front of our mirror, we tell ourselves, how we look. When we go about our day, there are very few people who tell us how we look. Most of the time, it is the image of ourselves that we carry in our head determine how we feel about ourselves and our business. At most times, our minds are conditioned to think in a certain way about ourselves because of our experiences in life and the people we encounter. We set up ourselves for success or failure in whatever tasks we are engaged in. It appears to me that if we can get our internal conversations right, half our problems will be solved. Thoughts and actions, do have a connection.

Being a fashion conscious woman, i have always had a hankering for Apple products. But the value conscious in me always made me cautious about investing in it. I always thought Apple products were ridiculously expensive. But as my online social networking life is expanding, it made sense to invest in an Ipod touch. And today I am a proud owner of an Ipod touch. I have never been a TV person so I am pretty excited about being able to listen to numerous podcasts on it. However, I am tad disappointed as it does not have a camera. I wish it had a mobile camera because recently i have fallen in love with photography.

But right now, i am loving my ipod touch and hopefully will continue to do so..as i get more sophisticated about it.

Facebook has emerged as one of the most engaging social networking online platforms for me. I have been a member of Facebook since a long time, however, it was only in March 2008 that I started using Facebook seriously to expand my social network. Within this past year, my social network has grown considerably – I am connected with over 218 friends on Facebook. My social network on Facebook includes friends I have known in real life – my school, college and university friends, friends I have known socially, members of my extended family, my co-workers and my Professors. However, my network on Facebook also includes people who have approached me on Facebook for friendship – some I have met but there are a few who I have never met. I also have some requests pending because at times I am not sure if I should add people I don’t know. So I am sending messages to people who approach me for friendship on facebook without an introduction. 

Until now, I have mostly used Facebook for uploading fotos and albums to share with family and friends. I am almost fotoblogging – changing my profile pic and activities pics almost every week. I am also updating my status messages regularly and sometimes I get interesting comments on my status messages. I have yet to start importing my blog posts on Facebook which I am planning to do shortly. So I haven’t really written a lot of notes on Facebook.

On Facebook, I have also added fanpages of various filmmakers, authors and political leaders who have made an impression on me. I have also become a member of various groups of different kinds, however, to acknowledge, although I am a member of various groups, I have rarely posted or commented on any of the group pages. As of now I have just been a spectator to various group activities.

Overall, I can say that I have found my Facebook experience very useful and interesting. I think the most value I have received from Facebook has been in terms of expanding my social network and maintaining my social network of friends, family, and co-workers. Now that I am using Facebook for social networking quite successfully, I am wondering what other ways there are to enhance my Facebook experience. Your suggestions and ideas are welcome!!!

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine. Like me, she is also a Ph.D. student but in the nutrition department. She was telling me that her baby daughter is now 8 months old and she is planning to do her “mundan.” In the “mundan” ceremony the baby’s head is shaved usually at a temple which is then followed by a pooja (worship). I was wondering how is she going to do it here in USA. She said that she has talked to the woman at the hair salon who has agreed to shave the baby’s head. Then she will go to the temple nearby and perform the ritual. Since her family members can’t be here, she is going to save the baby’s hair and take it to India on her next trip. Then the actual ceremony can be performed in India by a relative.

I asked her what value is there in saving the hair and taking to India for the rituals, the baby will be grown by that time. But she said that I want my child to have Indian values in her. I didn’t want to say more because I could see that she was already so sad that she is not in India and performing the actual ceremony there. I love traditions. But I was wondering, why despite such higher education people still stick to traditions that don’t make sense. I told her, why don’t you change this tradition and do it differently. I understand that it is important to get blessings from family members for the baby. But I couldn’t understand, what value is there in saving baby’s hair? Is that really necessary.

In this study, Beyond Microblogging: Conversation and Collaboration via Twitter, Susan Herring and Courtenay Honeycutt, found that although Twitter is designed primarily to answer the question “What are you doing?” it is increasingly being used for interactions. The tweets with @sign are more interactive in nature, giving out information to others or asking others to do something. Whereas tweets without @sign are more self-focussed and report general announcements.

You may also want to check out Gaurav Mishra’s post on study on “how Twitter is being used to maintain friendships and build influence.”

Twitteratis, post your comments, if you think otherwise or have any other observations…